Where We Work

Roots of Health runs community health outreach in carefully selected villages in Puerto Princesa. One of the common features of our sites is the lack of health services in the area. Instead of setting up an office or center and requiring people to come to us, we go to them. We offer educational sessions for mothers, teenagers. We also boost the nutritional profile of the community, by not only feeding mothers and children, but setting up gardens so that families can grow their own nutritious food. Read more about our community work.

Our initial location here in Puerto Princesa is an area known as “Pulang Lupa”, which means “Red Earth”. It is located in the barangay (suburb) of Santa Lourdes and is only a few hundred meters from the city’s landfill, which is an old Mercury mine. An added health risk to this already vulnerable population is that Pulang Lupa is quite isolated and is a far distance from the local health center.

The community consists of roughly 60 households creeping up an excavated hill. Many of the residents make a living off the landfill, either collecting recycleables or creating new products from discarded ones. A number of families also grow fruits and vegetables on a subsistence level. Some also care for animals on the behalf of other people. Eating meat is a luxury that most residents don’t enjoy very often.

Our second community is known as “Little Tondo”, which is located in Barangay San Jose. Most of the residents are from the Tagbanua tribe – one of the three main groups of indigenous peoples in Palawan.

Roots of Health also has a strong partnership with Palawan State University (PSU) and runs programming at the University year round. Roots of Health holds seminars at PSU for students across the University, but has had a special focus on the Colleges of Nursing and Midwifery, and Education. Roots of Health hopes that by further educating the youth in these influential fields, they in turn will be able to help others in the future. Read more about our university work. Roots of Health also has a strong partnership with Palawan State University (PSU) and runs programming at the University year round. We are currently also starting seminars in the Western Palawan University (WPU) School of Social Work.